022 Intercession
The background is white. Panel 1. Zane is holding a scuffed-up red book open in front of him, looking at it intently with an expression of annoyance. He thinks "Not even this book of quote *obscure* playing card games unquote has anything! Gotta fall back on my old standard -- finding ways to be *positive* about losing." The library is dark, with a navy blue background, and several shelves of multicolored books in the background. Panel 2. Zane grimaces and tosses the book onto the desk, thinking "Well... On the bright side, I keep my reputation as a terrible Oubliette player... Whew! No upsetting that apple cart!" The book lands with a thud, and a small piece of paper partially slips out from between the pages. Panel 3. Zane looks at the piece of paper sticking out of the book, reaching his hand toward it and thinking "What... What's that? It looks like an Oubliette card!" Short, thin lines come from the card, drawing attention to it. Its back is blue, with what looks like an intricate pattern on it. Panel 4. Zane holds the card up between his index and middle fingers, studying it. The back of the card has a navy blue lattice pattern over a lighter blue, with a white border. There is a pattern of two interlocking circles in the middle, which are joined so that they look like the number 8. Each circle has a second, thinner line within its perimeter, making them look like rings. Zane thinks "The *back* looks right, but there's no suit on the front. Or number or face for that matter. Quote 'Intercession?' unquote." Panel 5. Zane flips to the front of the book, thinking "...Who was the last person to check out this book?" The title of the book is visible, and reads "Obscure Playing Card Games." Panel 6. Part of the index card in the front of the book. There is a short list of handwritten names next to the stamped dates on which the book was due by and on which it was returned. The final name, written in elegant, old-fashioned handwriting, is Virgil Zane. The stamped dates show that the book was due by August 21st and was returned on August 21st, with no year available. The card has the library's logo partially visible. It's a red circle with a gold border and gold writing, and the words "Our Past Our Foundation" curve around the base of the circle. A pair of shovels with the year 1811 written on them is also barely visible. The library's address is partially visible, and is 800 White Ash Street. The card is also stamped with the library's stamp, which is a circular stamp with the words "Broodhollow Public Library" written around it and a pair of crossed shovels underneath a crown and above a star. The other names on the check out list are all handwritten, in different writing styles and colors of ink, and mostly illegible. The first one was due by November 4th and returned November 18th, the second was due December 16th and returned December 18th, the third was due December 16th and returned December 18th, the fourth was due April 30th and returned May 20th. Some of the dates are hard to read, and there are some stray ink marks.